Smile
by Cocoa987
Summary: Nine times Ben and Abigail Gates made Riley Poole smile instead of the other way around. Nine glimpses into the not-quite-ordinary lives of our three favorite treasure hunters. SMILE! :D


**'Ello, all. Started writing this around Valentine's Day- was writing Valentine's Day angst but got bored and switched to this... which is a little bit funny means this is the furthest thing from angst.**

**Anywho... this puts me in a smiley mood, which is nice means my day hasn't been especially smiley. Lyrics are from Uncle Kracker's "Smile" -which is a love song, but the only relationship in here is mild BenxAbby. So yeah... not much else I can say....**

**Disclaimer: NOT MINE.**

**Smile**

They all had their ups and downs. Riley had more ups than down, true, but even he had his moments. But…he knew that his two best friends would always be there for him.

_~But the moments when my good times start to fade…~_

When he was having a bad day, Riley could count on Ben to cheer him up. When Ben was busy, Abigail usually was the next best thing. The two of them- they made him smile when things seemed kind of sucky.

But here- he'll make it a list.

_~You make me smile like the sun~_

Head tipped up to the sky, Riley just enjoyed the sun's warmth on his pale face. A shadow crossed his face, and he frowned.

"Move."

"You're going to fry. Like a lobster."

"A very cute lobster."

"Maybe. I'll let the girls over there judge that." Riley's eyes snapped open.

"Where?" The street was empty. Ben stood at the bottom of the steps, waving a bottle in his face.

"I can't believe I fell for that again," Riley said regretfully, catching the offered bottle of suntan lotion.

"You're so gullible."

"You love me that way."

"You wish."

"Seriously- would you move? You're blocking my sun."

"You missed a spot."

"Where?"

"Right- here."

"Oy! No fair!"

_~ fall out of bed…~_

Poke."Riley."

"_What_, Ben? Seriously, can't a guy get any sleep?" Riley rolled over and buried his head under the pillows. Poke.

"You're going to get drool on those pillows."

"They're my pillows. What does it matter? Now, would you _please_ go away?" Poke. Poke.

Riley could hear Ben shifting on the floor next to his bed. Oh, great. He wasn't going to leave. He shut his eyes tighter and tried to make his breathing even. Maybe he could fake Ben out.

"Hey Riley?"

"Mmm?"

"You know how we've been friends for- what, five years now?"

"Mmmhmm?"

"It means I can tell when you're actually falling asleep…and when you're faking it." Wumph. Ow. Pillow.

"Ben…" Riley whined, burrowing further into the covers.

"There's bacon." _This_ caught Riley's attention. He rolled over and cracked open an eye.

"I don't smell anything burning." Ben was a horrible cook, and everyone knew it.

"Abigail made it. I just thought I might let you know, because everyone knows bacon isn't as good warmed back up. I'll let you sleep now." He was barely out the door when he heard Riley scrambling in his sheets. He turned just in time to see Riley go crashing to the floor, sheets and all.

"Don't you dare laugh," Riley warned, although Ben could see a smile twitching at the corners of his lips. Ben didn't laugh, although he was dangerously close when he saw the mess Riley had made of his sheets.

"Here- let me-"

"Thanks. Now, is there really bacon or were you just making that up?"

_~Sing like a bird, dizzy in my head~_

"I love this song," Riley informed as he turned up the radio to a volume that jarred Ben's teeth. Ben tried to decide over the thumping of the bass if he had heard the song before, and found that he had. A song that both men knew all the lyrics to was a rare thing, and Ben was determined to make the most of it.

"I actually know this one."

"No, you don't. There's no way." Riley was giving Ben one of his famous you've-got-to-be-kidding-who-do-you-think-you-are? looks. Ben gave him a no-I-am-not-kidding-and-I-know-exactly-who-I-am look in return.

"Yes, I do. See?" He began singing along halfheartedly until the chorus, when he was actually sure of the lyrics.

After a stunned silence, Riley joined in, belting out the chorus and continuing into the next verse. He obviously had heard the song more often than Ben, but that didn't stop them from doing their crazy, car-ride duet.

Riley was laughing too hard to get the tune out by the next chorus. "You're terrible," he managed to inform Ben. "You-you are tone deaf."

"I'd shove you, but I don't think you want to crash your car again. Hey, I think I know this song, too…"

_~Spin like a record, crazy on a Sunday night~_

Riley on caffeine wasn't a good thing, Ben decided far too late to make a difference. Riley was pacing in front of his laptop, which was placed on the kitchen counter. Ben peered at the computer curiously, before turning his attention back to the confused techie.

Caffeine had its effect on everyone, and on Riley it seemed to dampen his ability to think. Kind of like alcohol. Riley was a funny drunk. Ben had learned to steer Riley away from the drinks at parties after Riley had tried to hit on the prime minister of Egypt's wife. Or something like that.

But anyway- Riley was pacing back and forth, and it was starting to make Ben dizzy. "So what's the matter?"

"I don't know, Ben."

"Can you fix it?"

"Well, if I don't know what it is then I can't very well fix it, can I?" Ben stepped into Riley's path and Riley slammed right into him. Ben gripped him around the shoulders and forced Riley to meet his eyes.

"Sit down before you hurt yourself," he ordered the younger man gently. He moved past Riley and took a look at the computer. "Can you get the stuff back?"

"Yep," Riley called from where he had crashed on the couch. He was hanging upside down- his face was getting red.

Ben studied the computer for a second before hitting a few buttons. The screen cleared, and Riley lifted his head. "What'd you do?"

"Control-Alt-Delete works wonders, Ri."

"Don't call me that."

"What does this button do- you've got _this_ song?" Ben grinned at the incredulous look on Riley's face.

"How'd you find that- oh, never mind. I love this song!" He hopped up and began spinning crazily, arms windmilling.

"Come on, Ben! It's the latest thing!" He called, stumbling over a magazine and flailing before catching his balance. Ben shook his head, grinning and waiting for the inevitable crash.

It came not a moment later, and Riley landed with a _thump_ on the couch. He grinned dizzily at Ben, his eyes not completely focusing on his friend.

"I love that song. Play it again, why don't you?"

_~You make me dance like a fool~_

"So what's the big news?" Riley asked, leaning on the banister looking down at Ben and Abigail. "I've got things to do. Not really, but, you know, still. Your TV doesn't get any good channels. I missed a Star Wars marathon on New Years because you had to go off on vacation without me and leave me to house sit." He paused, realizing that Ben and Abby hadn't cut him off yet. "Anytime now, guys. Seriously."

Ben looked at Abby. Abigail looked at Ben. "You tell him."

"No, you."

"You."

"He likes you better."

"That's not true and you know it. You make him food."

"True."

"He also likes it when you talk about him like he's not here," Riley drawled from upstairs. "Now- someone tell me."

Abigail hesitated, opened her mouth, and-

"How would you like to be an uncle, Riley?" Ben blurted. Abigail shut her mouth with a snap and glared at her husband. "You took too long."

"I was getting there." They turned their attention to Riley, whose mouth was hanging open. He looked from Ben to Abigail back to Ben and back to Abigail, who nodded in confirmation. Riley whooped and raced down the stairs, sliding down the railing and nearly barreling into Abigail.

"You're- how far along? Is it a boy or a girl? What are you going to name it? Why didn't you _tell_ me? Oh god, are you going to get all hormonal and crazy? Because I love you, Abs, but if you call me at three am and make me get you tacos, heads will roll. Aw, who cares. Congratulations!" He beamed, hugging Abigail and then Ben.

"Let's see- three months, we don't know yet, no idea, we just found out for sure today, and I hope not," Abigail recited carefully. "I-_ohf!_" Riley had crashed into her and was dancing around the foyer with her, bouncing excitedly. Abigail gave up and laughed, twirling on Riley's command and spinning into Ben's grasp. He wrapped his arms protectively around his wife and smiled at Riley. Riley beamed back as he bounced around.

"He's so happy." Abigail whispered quietly.

"He always is- now, do we tell him that he'll be on diaper duty _now, _or later?"

_~Forget how to breathe~_

Riley fidgeted nervously, tugging at his tie as he checked his watch. He was dressed nice- for once. Penguin suit and all. At least Ben had let him wear his Converses. They matched… kind of.

He stood up and tapped his glass with his knife a few times. The crowd quieted and he coughed nervously.

"Well- hi. I'm Riley, and can I say that this all happened because of me? I mean, if I hadn't gotten Ben into the Preservation Room, we never would have been caught by Abigail and ended up on that crazy adventure." Everyone chuckled, and Riley grinned, easing up. "No, really. It's all Ben- Ben's been my best friend for- forever, really. Why else would I let him drag me across the country looking for buried treasure? I mean, sure, I was mostly in it for the girls, but we had some fun times." He grinned cheekily at Ben, where a grin was starting to make its way across the groom's face.

"I'd go on for a while- I know a few people here could attest to that-" he pointedly ignored Patrick Gates' shout of laughter. "But there's just a couple things I want to say."

"Abigail- you look so beautiful. I think I forgot to breathe when I saw you in your dress. It's a sad day for all us bachelors here, isn't it?" He winked at Abigail, and she buried her face in her hands. "I remember the first time we met you- you shot us down, which I think was how the whole crazy scheme got started. Thanks for that, Ab. You made it fun."

"Ben- what can I say about you? Should I embarrass you by mentioning a certain first date involving a gorilla?" Ben glared while the crowd laughed. "Or talk about your obsession- no, sorry, _passion_- for presidents I didn't even know existed?" Another laugh. "No, seriously, Ben. You're like my brother, and you wouldn't believe how happy I am for you."

"I love you both- but next time, let me set the finder's fee, okay?" He sat down and let himself be hugged by Abigail and shook hands with Ben and hoped that they didn't see the tears sparkling in the corners of his eyes.

_~Shine like gold~_

Riley swallowed nervously as he paced back and forth before the church doors. He checked his pockets for the thousandth time, panicked when he thought he had misplaced the rings, and remembered that Abigail's nephew was the ring bearer all over again.

All he had to do was walk Abby's maid of honor down the aisle. Then he'd stand there until the ceremony was over- or something like that. He wasn't too sure- he hadn't paid attention during the rehearsal, and forgot to double-check with Ben. He was about to pull out his phone and Google it when the Maid of Honor took his arm and they were walking through the doors.

He went to stand next to Ben automatically, and to his relief, it seemed like the right thing to do. His hand slipped to his pocket again, and his heart thudded to a stop when his fingers touched gold. _He'd forgotten to give the kid the rings._ Oh, great.

The kid was walking up the aisle now, shooting him a dirty look. Riley squirmed and Ben shot him a look out of the corner of his eye. But then he wasn't paying attention because here came Abigail and boy was she beautiful.

Riley stopped panicking for a second or two just because she was so pretty in her dress and Ben was quite possibly the luckiest guy in the world. And then he realized that he was going to have to get the rings to the place they needed to go and he had _no_ idea what to do.

He stayed mostly still during the ceremony, not panicking. Yep. _Not_ panicking. And then the minister asked for the rings and the little kid just sat there and Abigail shot the kid a look and Riley realized with a jolt that he had to get up there.

He started forward, tripped over the base of a candle, and landed flat on his face. The candle teetered, nearly falling and setting him on fire. One of the groomsmen caught it carefully and set it back up. Ben knelt to help him up, and Riley grinned, pulling a hand out of his pocket and presenting Ben with the rings.

His improvisation skills were amazing, he decided as he walked back up the aisle with the Maid of Honor. Abigail turned back to smile at him and gave him a little wave, a glint of gold now glistening on her hand.

_~Buzz like a bee~_

"Bee!" Riley shot straight up and bolted to the side, nearly plowing straight into Ben. Ben dodged and then was jerked off balance as Riley darted behind him, peering over his shoulder carefully. "Is it gone?"

"I don't see anything."  
"It could be here anyway. Do you hear it? Its little buzzing noise?" Silence.

"You're freaking out over nothing, Riley."

"Sorry." Riley emerged from his hiding place carefully and sat back down on his steps- a place he frequented when he was bored and just wanted to watch the world go by. There was a pot of dismal-looking flowers on the bottom step- something that Ben assumed had caused the previous outburst.

Riley watched the flowers warily, waiting… "Gnargh!" He hopped up and scaled the stairs clumsily, tripping as he kept his eyes on the dreary looking plant.

"Riley…" Ben sighed in exasperation. Riley didn't respond, eyes locked on the plant below. Ben frowned- something in Riley's expression was bothering him.

"Riley?" The younger man flinched and looked up. "It's gone, kid." Riley slumped down to sit on the top step.

"Don't call me kid," he muttered half-heartedly. "Sorry," he added as Ben came to sit next to him. There was silence for a moment, and then Riley spoke again.

"I've been allergic to them since I was a kid. When I was nine, I got stung here," he rubbed the side of his neck gingerly. "The doctor said if I'd come in any later my throat would've swollen up completely and- yeah." He lapsed into silence abruptly and glared moodily at the innocent plant. Ben heard the buzzing first.

Riley scrambled up and nearly went down the stairs head-first. Ben followed the bee's movements, picked up the newspaper from the bottom of the stairs, hefted it carefully, swung- _whap!_ The bee plummeted and Ben smushed it triumphantly with his foot.

"Thanks," Riley said. He was grinning. "So, you're not only a treasure hunter but a mighty killer of bees?"

"Hey- if the shoe fits…"

_~Just the thought of you can make me wild~_

"Riley!" Abigail shouted, hands on her hips. No answer. She sighed, looking up at the ceiling as if the answers would be there. A bright pink Post-it lost its battle with gravity and drifted down from the ceiling. She caught it and read it slowly. **Hey Abby- you're out of jelly beans again. GET SOME MORE PLEASE. Thanks- R. **

She sighed again and stuck the Post-it in her pocket before continuing down the hallway. Riley had discovered Post-its sometime when he was writing his book, and he had gotten in the habit of using them as his main way of communication around the house. He had an uncanny ability to put them right in where they would look next- such as the ceiling. She wasn't quite sure how he did it, but it was messy, unorthodox, and downright annoying in some cases.

She glanced toward the refrigerator warily- it seemed to be Sticky-Note Central there most of the time. She wasn't disappointed.

**Abs- you're out of milk too. How are we supposed to have cookies when there's no milk? It goes against the natural order. -R.**

_**He has a point, Abby. By the way, has anyone seen my notes for the lecture tomorrow? -Ben.**_

**Ben, nobody cares about your lecture notes. Play ****1776****- that's something they'll actually pay attention to. -R**

_**They **__**do**__** care about history, that's why they're **__**taking the class**__**, Riley. -Ben.**_

Abigail sighed- again- and whirled around, about ready to drown Riley in his own Post-it Notes. He'd gotten Ben to use them, too. Someone was going to have to pay for the sticky residue on the walls and the obnoxious neon-pink squares everywhere. She'd had enough- and another square caught her attention just before she could yell. She ripped it off the light above the counter with a frustrated growl.

**SHHH- THE BABY'S SLEEPING!!**

Abigail crumpled the note and plucked one off the counter, where Riley had happened to leave a pad of them. She grabbed a pen and scrawled her own answer to the ever-present notes.

_Riley- the notes have got to stop. Or at least be toned down. If I find another one in my jewelry box I will drop your iPod down the garbage disposal._

_Ben- your lecture is on the coffee table, where you left it._

_NO MORE NOTES. I __MEAN __IT. _

She stuck the Post-It on the counter, slapped it down, and headed off to Charlotte's room, who had indeed started crying.

Just then the door opened, and Riley walked into the kitchen, humming under his breath. He glanced at the counter, toward the fridge, and back toward the counter, curiosity filling his eyes. He peeled off the note, examined it, and grinned, before writing a note of his own.

**Ben- I win the bet. Abigail's note: --**

_~Oh, you make me **smile**.~_

Whenever Riley was around Ben or Abigail- something about just being around them made this big loopy grin come across his face. They were his family, or as close as they could be. They made him _want _to do crazy things, like find treasure and write books and not just stay in his apartment and be the snarky little tech geek that he used to think would be all he amounted to in life.

Ben and Abigail always said that Riley made them smile, that they were sometimes bad friends, but Riley didn't mind- for the most part. They weren't perfect. They all made their mistakes- Ben was a little dense at times, Abigail was a bit stuck up, and Riley was sometimes too smart for his own good. It didn't matter, because in the end, a smile could always be found making its way across his face.

*

**Oh yeah- I also don't own the story about Ben and the gorilla- that belongs to LoriIpsum from her story Memories, and I added it because it made me laugh. Also don't own the song or 1776. Or bacon. Even though it's really, really good. Anyway... hope it made you smile!!**

**Cocoa =D**

**P.S. I wonder how many times I used the word 'smile' or a similar word in the process of writing this. Oh well.**

**P.P.S. Dear Golden-Heart: GET AN ACCOUNT because A) I always want to reply to your reviews because they- yes, I'll say it- make me smile (;D), B) your stories sound awesome, and C) I don't really have a C other than it would be awesome. Kthanxbyenow!! :)**


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